NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, SEPT 26
Legendary singer, actor and music composer S P Balasubrahmanyam hailed as “singing moon (Paadum Nila)” and “music cloud” by his millions of fans was laid to rest at his farm house in Thamaraipakkam in Tiruvallore district on the outskirts of Chennai on Saturday with a 24-gun salute by Tamil Nadu police.
After the singer’s son S P Charan performed the funeral rites amid Vedic chants by priests, 24 police personnel gave a gun salute and later the body was lowered into a deep pit and buried.
With policemen marching along, the body was brought on a bier to the designated burial spot from an enclosure earmarked for people to pay homage and perform rituals.
The farm house at Tamaraipakkam in nearby Tiruvallur district teemed with his fans, well-wishers and celebrities for the funeral and about 500 police personnel were deployed to regulate crowd.
The singer, praised as “Padum Nila” (singing moon) and “Isai Megam” (music cloud) by his fans for his mellifluous voice tested positive for coronavirus and admitted to MGM Healthcare here on August 5 and he died on Friday
SPB, breathed his last after he suffered a cardiac arrest at 1.04 pm on Friday.
The singer’s mortal remains was kept at his farmhouse in Thamaraipakkam for the public to pay their respects before last rites. People were let inside in small numbers to prevent crowding. At 11 am, the body was taken to a nearby burial ground.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday said that the legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam will be laid to rest with full police honours.
The Chief Minister said that the singer holds a place in the hearts of the people not only from Tamil Nadu but across the nation.
In a condolence note, the Chief Minister remembered the songs sung by SP Balasubrahmanyam for the two former chief ministers from AIADMK, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. He said, “I am saddened by hearing about the demise of SP Balasubrahmanyam. He was the gift of god for this 20th century. He held a very important place in the heart of former late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran (MGR) who waited for SPB to sing the well known ‘Aayiram Nilave Vaa’.”
SPB about Corona#RIPSPB pic.twitter.com/WSQn9rbrGw
— Prabhakar Tamilarasu || பிரபாகர் தமிழரசு (@pkr_madras) September 25, 2020
The Chief Minister also recalled the song sung by SPB for the late former Chief Minister K Jayalalithaa. He said, “The song sung for Amma (Jayalalithaa) “Thanga tharagaiye varuga varuga, Tamil mannin devathaye varuga varuga” has remained with us and will continue to resonate within us forever. The song will hold a special place in party’s history.”
On August 5, the singer was admitted to MGM Healthcare after he tested positive for coronavirus. From the hospital, SPB posted a video saying that he has mild chest congestion and he will recover soon. However, there was a sudden deterioration in the singer’s health on August 14.
He slowly started recovering from COVID pneumonia and tested negative for the novel coronavirus virus on September 4. However, his health once again deteriorated on Thursday and he passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at 1.04 pm on Friday.
